News

Perspective

AI and sustainability: a new strategic area of activity

In the global debate about the risks to society posed by and the economic potential of artificial intelligence, two complementary lines of argument stand out in striving for specific approaches to a “sustainable” use of AI. Both topics are of relevance to all companies wishing to develop a long-term AI strategy. However, they are usually not differentiated sufficiently in practice. An attempt at clarification by Andreas Neef, Managing Partner of Z_punkt.

26.04.2019

Technology

Artificial Intelligence as Inventor and Developer

Whilst automation continues its inexorable progress in the sphere of industrialised production, direct human involvement in the very early stages of development is also becoming increasingly rare. Whether in the laboratory of tomorrow or the factory of the future, it is algorithms that will be shouting “eureka!”. Machines not only know how to produce a given item, but also how many, with what, and why it must be done just so.

27.05.2017

Technology

Immersive Exosuits with Textile Muscle Fibres

Exoskeletons are usually bulky and seem strange, and not just to the wearer. But this could change in future with the introduction of textile muscle fibres that can be worn as an under layer of clothing like T-shirts. Merging them with multi-sense technologies and virtual reality will result in a hitherto unattainable degree of physical performance and immersion. Analogue and digital, artificial and alive – it is no longer possible to differentiate between these things.

27.05.2017

Agriculture

Agricultural Robotics for Efficient Indoor Farming

The level of automation in agriculture is already high in many advanced economies. Yet, faced with an ever-increasing global population, agricultural enterprises around the world are on the lookout for additional ways to improve efficiency.

27.05.2017

Drone-Based Logistics for Remote Regions

The future of logistics without the use of drones is inconceivable. Whilst the obstacles to their deployment in urban areas are currently insurmountable and possibly will be for the foreseeable future, drones are virtually predestined for deliveries to remote regions.

27.05.2017

Energy

The Blockchain: Infrastructure for China’s Energy Transition

Together with a Chinese partner, IBM is currently introducing a blockchain-based emission trading scheme in China. In the longer term, it could well form the basis of the digital infrastructure for China’s energy transition.

27.05.2017

Technology & Engineering

Is Production Reliability Becoming a Service Package?

The production line has ground to a halt: a curse escapes the lips of the Production Manager – to no avail. And it was all supposed to be completely different by 2020 thanks to the concept of predictive maintenance and state-of-the-art algorithms. Back in 2016, some 66% of employees had stated that they had suffered because of mechanical stoppages. The intention had been to help them!

06.03.2017

Finance

Investing with Controlled Emotions

False hunches can cost stockbrokers a fortune, even when they are convinced that their decision had been carefully considered. Brian Uzzi, Professor at the Kellogg School of Management at the Northwestern University in Evanston in the USA, wants to change all that.
Uzzi has developed a system that keeps dealers updated about their current emotional state based on a real-time analysis of their emails and instant messages. It then lets them know the most propitious time to make economic decisions.

06.03.2017

Technology & Engineering

A Paradigm Shift in Industrial 3D Printing?

Less than €2500 for a 3D printer that can print various materials and electronic printed circuit board tracks fully automatically? Simply printing one’s next mobile phone at home – sounds too good to be true. Sadly, it is. As of January 2017, the Berlin-based start-up Next Dynamics was still trying to get enough money through crowd sourcing to produce the above-mentioned printer. Following accusations of fraud, Kickstarter, the crowd-funding platform in question, had terminated the campaign.

06.03.2017

Trend Report

3D-printing – a disruptive innovation for the logistics industry

Applications for additive manufacturing technologies are being discovered in more and more sectors – in medicine, in the automotive industry, in mining. A new trend report by Deutsche Post DHL examines what 3D-printing will imply for the future of supply chains. The report was produced in collaboration with Z_punkt.

14.12.2016

Article

Foresight with an impact

How do Foresight projects create impact? A new article ponders this question, using the project „Future of Work: Jobs and Skills in 2030“, that Z_punkt conducted in 2015 for the UK Commission for Employment and Skills, as an example.

14.12.2016

Technology policy

Z_punkt supports Irish department of innovation

The Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation (DJEI) of the Irish government has initiated a „Technology Futures Exercise“ to find out which technologies will be critical for Ireland until 2035. The aim is to identify priority areas for R&D funding.

The Internet from outer space is within reach

14.12.2016

Mobility

Car-Sharing 2.0: blockchain and autonomous driving

New technologies such as autonomous driving and blockchain could completely reshape the platform monopolists’ market for mobility on demand. On-demand offers such as car-sharing, taxis, shuttle busses or ride-hailing à la Uber and Lyft already promise their users the greatest possible flexibility.

14.12.2016

Hybrid shops will merge the online and offline worlds

In the ferocious competition between e-commerce and over-the-counter stores, more and more retailers are carrying out experiments to see how they can extend the retail experience enjoyed by customers in their stores online.

14.12.2016

Logistics

Peer-to-peer logistics is gaining momentum

More and more solutions are being launched under the buzzword “collaborative economy” with the help of digital and mobile technologies, which incorporate private, unutilised resources in the economic cycle. Peer-to-peer logistics have also been talked of in this respect for some time.

14.12.2016

Resources

Water from nothing for the world’s poorest

In 2008, Goldman Sachs prophesised that water would become the new crude oil. Given the trend in the oil price, a new form of oil would also be urgently needed. The irony of fate for the investment bank: even before water can be turned into oil and consequently bring substantial riches, renewable energies could convert this anticipated source of largesse into a dried-out puddle.

14.12.2016

Resources

Samsung’s “battery-gate” and the circular economy

“Attention, attention, important information concerning your flight: please note that owners of a Samsung Galaxy Note 7 are banned from bringing the device on board.” You may have heard this warning or something similar in recent months and shaken your head. However, it is worth looking behind the scenes at the damage done to Samsung’s image.

Market modeling

Understanding the future of the Smart Home market

19.07.2016

Logistics

Flexible Delivery gains momentum in logistics

Online shopping makes shopping more relaxed – it can be done from the com-fort of your sofa and without the stress of going into town. It only becomes more complicated when the goods are delivered and this is often the case. If you are not at home, will your “favourite neighbour” accept the delivery? Or will you have to make your way to the local branch of the delivery service?

01.06.2016

Retail

Are stable prices soon to be a thing of the past?

Anybody who buys online – whether at home or on the move – is familiar with the phenomenon: prices in online shops change frequently, in some cases drastically. Online retailers use this technique as specifically as possible, i.e. ideally on a personalised basis, to exploit their customers’ willingness to buy.

01.06.2016

Chemistry

Metabolic Engineering enables new design chemicals

Without modern biotechnology, clothes that come out clean when washed at only 40 degrees Celsius would be inconceivable. Today, chemical substances are also being replaced by biotechnology in many other industrial areas, such as agriculture or cosmetics, but they still play a subordinate role compared with petrochemicals.

01.06.2016

IT and finance

Ethereum fulfils the promise of Bitcoin

Ethereum, a crypto-currency developed by 21-year old Vitalik Buterin and approved for software applications since March, could fulfil the promises of Bitcoin and exploit the full potential of the blockchain. The value of an ether has risen from one dollar to 13 dollars since January and with its 6,630 nodes-strong network, Ethereum overtook the Bitcoin network of 5,604 nodes already in May.

01.06.2016

Finance

Telefonica enters the retail banking market

number26, transferwise, iZettle – a large number of fintech firms have been giving traditional retail banks cause to sweat for some time. So far, none of the new providers has landed a blow comparable to that of PayPal. However, this could change soon as a result of the attempt by Telefónica.

Z_punkt live

Forthcoming Events

05.04.2016

Logistics

Exoskeletons support logistics workers of the future

Logistics workers of the future will have superpowers. In years to come, augmented reality glasses and exoskeletons are likely to be just as much part of an employee’s equipment as his or her uniform. Augmented reality and exoskeleton modules allow heavier loads to be transported more quickly and precisely.

05.04.2016

Report

The future of supply chain management

The business environment for companies in the engineering and manufacturing sector is changing: Product lifecycles are becoming shorter, demand is growing in new markets, customers are increasingly asking for tailored solutions and new technologies are becoming more and more important for the success of a company. Production and supply chain concepts need to adapt to these developments. A new report produced by DHL and Z_punkt analyses the most important trends and their impact on the E&M sector.

28.10.2015

Sustainability

Scenarios for a resource-friendly society

What will save our planet? Voluntary simplicity or obligatory moderation? Together with its project partners, Z_punkt is currently developing a set of positive and attractive scenarios for a resource-conserving lifestyle. The preliminary results were recently presented at two high-calibre international sustainability events.

24.10.2015

Survey

Mind the Cross Innovation Gap

Cross-industry innovation is a vital issue for the future – yet very few companies still apply it in a systematic fashion, according to the results of an expert survey by Z_punkt involving sixty innovation managers at some of the world’s most important blue-chips and medium-sized enterprises in Germany.

Corporate Security 2030

30.06.2015

Lectures

World Conference of Futures Research

Why do we need quality criteria in future research? And what do we learn from the bleak scenarios offered by science fiction? Two lectures by Karlheinz Steinmüller at the International Future Conference in Turku provided suggestions.

17.06.2015

Key Trends

Future of Work

Robot instead of Robert? At the “Strategic Moves Lab” Eckhard Störmer from Z_punkt spoke about the key trends for the future of work. Academics also have to worry about their job – at least in one of the scenarios, that Störmer presented.

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